The Enemy of My Enemy
by eena-angel2001
Summary: Unlikely allies, uneasy friends, and reluctant lovers . . . Bonnie/Damon


Title: The Enemy of My Enemy . . .

Author: Eena

Rating: Pg-13, for language and mentions of violence.

Disclaimer: LJ Smith owns Vampire Diaries.

Summary: Unlikely allies, uneasy friends, and reluctant lovers . . . Bonnie/Damon

Spoilers: All Season One, including the finale.

Notes: Continuing on where the finale left off and adding a mix and match of details from the book series.

_She could do it. If anyone could do it, she could do it. Time was short, dangers were plentiful, and the fear was nearly paralyzing. But still, she could do it._

_ "Bonnie!" The scream came from somewhere far behind her, deep in the woods. "Bonnie, hurry!"_

_ More screams, more shouts, and more pleas. She heard them all and ignored them. She had no time for worry, she had no time for doubt, and there was no room for terror._

_ She could do it._

Bonnie wearily let herself into the hospital chapel, allowing herself a bit of amusement at the sign proclaiming the room to be a 'multi-faith room'. Mystic Falls was trying to be inclusive, but nothing would really change the chapel to a 'multi-faith room' unless they removed the giant crucifix and altar at the front of the room.

Regardless of the signs, Bonnie found herself to be a little apprehensive entering the room. It felt as though she hadn't been to church in ages. The last time she remembered going was at Elena's parents' funeral. And though months had passed and she had gone through her own sorrows, it would be another Gilbert tragedy that would bring her back to church.

John was dead. He was dead and someone had mutilated him beforehand. Elena had found him, lying on the kitchen floor, blood all around. She had screamed, which brought Jenna running down the stairs. Jenna placed the call and Elena had gone off in search of her brother. And she found him.

It was hours later and there was still no indication of whether Jeremy would make it or not. Bonnie had arrived at the hospital seconds after the ambulance, having already been on her way because of Caroline's accident. Inside she learned of everything that had happened; the total level of devastation of the night had amounted to this: John Gilbert-dead, Richard Lockwood-dead, Anna-dead, Jeremy Gilbert-overdosed, Caroline Forbes-in critical condition.

The whole town imploded tonight. There just weren't enough explanations, justifications, or rationale in the world to help her understand it. Things were getting worse, not better. Bonnie could barely keep up with it all and found herself unable to do a damn thing about it. Magic wouldn't help her here.

And so, the chapel. She looked around, noting that it was empty. She trudged down the aisle, dropping into the first pew and gazing thoughtfully at the large crucifix. She had had a lot of questions about God and religion and faith since she had embraced her heritage. Grams always told her that she was descended from Salem witches, and while that was sort of cool, it was also alarming. They burned witches in Salem, hunted them without compunction, without mercy. And they had the church with them when they did it.

Bonnie sighed and tried to push morbid thoughts aside. She knelt down, hands clasped in front of her, and put her entire will into one prayer.

She felt him beside her, well before she saw him. There was a subtle hum in the air, a hum she had recently begun to associate with Power. Ben hadn't had much of it, he was simply too young. Stefan had it, but it was barely a whisper most of the time. But Damon-he had IT. When she compared him to the others she had met, it wasn't even a contest. Damon was the strongest vampire she had ever met.

And she knew there were stronger ones out there.

Bonnie tilted her head to the left, mentally gathering some energy in case Damon felt he should pay her back for her deceit. She regretted lying to Elena, but Bonnie knew she had done the right thing. The night had been bad enough, but if there hadn't been a way to stop all those tomb vampires-the outcome was just too horrible to think about.

He was sitting calm in the pew, looking at the crucifix as if he wasn't sure what it was. His mind was elsewhere, obviously, as she waited for him to speak Bonnie couldn't help but feel her ire rising.

Couldn't he ever just leave her in peace?

She got up off the floor and rose to stand in front of him. Her hands were on her hips and a fierce look was on her face. "What?"

He wouldn't even look at her when he answered. "Elena couldn't find her dress tonight."

That stumped her. Bonnie looked at him in disbelief. "That's what's bothering you? Of all the things that happened tonight, including your own near-death experience, that's what's bothering you? Elena's dress? What is the matter with you, Damon?"

His eyes finally left the crucifix and turned on her. Those ice-blue eyes were practically alit with fury. Bonnie swallowed a gasp and did her best not to back up.

"Elena couldn't find her dress," Damon growled, rising out of his seat so he could tower over her. "But when I saw her tonight, on her front porch, she was carrying her dress with her. Only Elena doesn't remember meeting on the porch and she insists that her dress was missing. Now, maybe you would say that I'm lying, but Jenna most definitely saw Elena on the porch with me tonight and she isn't liable to forget it any time soon. But Elena's not a liar either. Have you got enough information to add two and two together, or should I spell it out for you, witch?"

Bonnie stared hard into those blue eyes and saw that Damon was serious. Her mind raced and she understood. Her knees started shaking and she was sinking down into the pew, the first trembling of fear upon her.

"Katherine."

There was a swish of fabric and suddenly Damon was sitting right next to her, an almost identical look of despair on his face. "Yeah."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, feeling that old hatred recede back for a smidge of a second. "We're screwed, aren't we?"

He let out a loud sigh. "Yeah."

She nodded, more to herself than to him, and then glared once more. "You know this is all your fault, right?"

His head snapped her way, clearly annoyed. "Yeah."

She fell silent, unsure that she should be happy or sad that he agreed. Damon just turned his eyes back to the crucifix and stared at it as blankly as before. She turned to look as well, her body slowly going numb as she envisaged the carnage to come.

They sat there, together, in silence until Matt came to tell them that Caroline was awake-and that Jeremy had died.

_Fire burned through her veins. She couldn't breathe with all the heat. She wanted to cough and hack and wheeze, but that would stop the incantation, so she did nothing._

_ Her voice weakened as her energy began to deplete. The words on the paper she held in her hands were starting to blur. It was all so close now._

_ "Bonnie!"_

_ She chanted on._

Katherine's first attack came at the Sheriff. The years had passed, but Katherine had never truly forgotten the people who tried to kill her-and nearly succeeded. The people in question might have been dead for years now, their bones turning to dust, but that wouldn't stop her.

Bonnie wasn't sure anything could stop her.

However, there was something about Katherine that one couldn't help but admire. Sure, Damon claimed to be all about the diabolical master plan, but Katherine had it down pat. Damon was too volatile, too given to passing fancies. Katherine took a plan and made it intricate and complicated on purpose. She would have you looking one way and then reach around and get from the other side. It was masterful, clever, and downright terrifying. Katherine was evil genius personified.

So the attack on the Sheriff, which no doubt was meant to kill her, was not really about the Sheriff at all. Katherine sent her henchmen (hench-pires?) out to do her bidding and while everyone was scrambling trying to save Sheriff Forbes, Katherine made her move.

Apparently Katherine missed Emily. Well, to be more accurate, Katherine missed having her very own witch to order about. How she had gone these past 146 years without one, Bonnie didn't know. But she was determined to have one. So, she arranged for one to be brought to her.

Facing a monster with her best friend's face had to be the scariest thing Bonnie had done-to date. No doubt things would get worse (hadn't that been the pattern since the Salvatores returned to town?). Looking Katherine in the eyes and turning her down, that had taken more nerve than Bonnie thought she had. And seeing the annoyance flash across Katherine`s face-that had been another unforgettable experience. Bonnie had seen both Stefan and Damon enraged and beset by bloodlust. Katherine`s annoyance was ten times stronger than that. Bonnie didn`t want to know what it was like when Katherine was angry.

Her refusal to bend to Katherine`s demands seemed to throw a wrench into the plans. No problem, Katherine had several back-ups in place. Bonnie had been tossed into a dark room to cool her heels and Katherine had sent forth her minions again. When Bonnie was finally brought out of the dark room, she was treated to the sight of Caroline, hanging from Katherine`s hands

"What do you say now?" Katherine purred, rubbing her nose across Caroline's neck in a pretence of affection. Caroline squeaked and her eyes widened, imploring Bonnie silently to explain the presence of a monster wearing Elena's face. Bonnie, just like that time with Ben and Elena, could do nothing but hunker down and give in to the inevitable.

Except she didn't need to.

Katherine held Power unlike anything Bonnie had felt before. It wasn't a whisper or a hum, like the Salvatore brothers. It was more like a steady, inhuman growl that set the hairs on her arm on end. There was no denying Katherine was strong. Her Power dwarfed that of all those around her.

And yet, she felt him come.

His hum, the one she identified as his own, slithered underneath Katherine's growl. It wasn't obtrusive; it was more subtle than she would ever give him credit for being. Honestly, she wasn't sure if it was noticeable at all. Certainly she had seen that vampires had no sense of each other, not even when they were close at hand. These readings of Power, the way Bonnie could pick up a thread of it clear out of the air, maybe it was something only witches could do. She had no one to ask and that thought reminded her of why she was still so angry at Damon Salvatore, whether he was there to save her or not.

Her eyes locked with Katherine's, and though she still isn't okay with the thought of Damon rescuing her, she let a smug smirk curve her lips. "I say, you should have had a plan C."

Katherine can snap Caroline's neck faster than Damon or Stefan can get inside the building, but that's okay. Bonnie only needed to hear that hum to know Damon was seconds away. She reached down into herself, pulling on the reserve of magic she had been building up for the past two days. She had known using magic against a whole house full of vampires would only get her dead, but now that the cavalry was here, Bonnie could unleash.

Katherine's attention had been diverted for just one second, when the front door smashed open and that was all Bonnie needed. Soon the vampire was screeching in pain, hands covering her ears and releasing Caroline in the process. Bonnie didn't look to see their arrival, heard it in the screams of the other vampires. There were loud popping noises and the sound of water hitting flesh-accompanied by a persistent sizzling. There was also a lot of blood and when some of it splashed across her face, Bonnie's concentration was broken.

Katherine needed little else to make her escape. Promising to be back, with her flaming sword of retribution in tow, Katherine disappeared from the midst of the fight within a second. The sounds of the fight have died off and Bonnie dared to glance at the carnage.

There are bodies everywhere. Most of them have stakes protruding from their chests; less fortunate ones have their throats ripped out or their faces melted. Bonnie fought the urge to gag and turned away from the sight.

"Are you prone to getting kidnapped by vampires, or is this what qualifies as a fun night out with Bonnie Bennett?"

She stared at Damon dumbfounded, unsure what to make of the grin on his face. He waggled his eyebrows at her, picking up her bound hands and making quick work of the ropes. She watched all this with a wary eye, taking her hands back once he was done and rotating her wrists gingerly.

"I'm going to have to thank you for this, aren't I?" she asked, her voice despondent.

Damon's grin just got wider. "Well, now there's a thought. The Littlest Witch has to thank me for saving her pretty little neck. Don't suppose I could get you to offer up the aforementioned neck in gratitude?"

She didn't bother to answer that. Bonnie gave him a look that screamed 'you are so annoying' and then looked to the rest of her rescue team. Jeremy was there, standing next to Stefan and receiving a lecture on why it wasn't okay to use a vampire's head as a soccer ball after you had already slain said vampire. She made a face at Elena's younger brother and rolled her eyes when he flashed her wicked smile. Allowing both Stefan and Damon to tutor the boy in the ways of the vampire had been a mistake from the start.

Matt was also there, half-crawled underneath the table that Caroline had taken refuge under. She allowed herself only a couple seconds to look them both over before assuring herself they were fine and left them to their reunion. Alaric was standing just behind Stefan and Jeremy, holding a crossbow-like contraption that was similar to ones that Stefan and Jeremy had strapped across their backs. Tyler stood in the doorway, looking about him in horror, holding what seemed to be a Supersoaker in his hands.

Elena was there as well, and she was jogging over to Bonnie. Elena had a Supersoaker too and after hugging her best friend she just had to ask: "Supersoakers?"

Elena blushed. "They're full of vervain," she explained, shaking her head as Damon wandered off to join Jeremy's side of the vampire-head-soccer-ball debate. "It was Jeremy's idea. It worked really well; maybe too well. I'm going to have nightmares for months."

Bonnie made a face and nodded in agreement. Soon they were vacating the premises, Tyler and Matt forming a protective shield around Caroline as they headed for their cars. Damon appeared at her elbow, making several more indecent proposals about how she could properly 'thank' him. It took the threat of Elena's Supersoaker and Bonnie's vow to light him on fire to get him to stop mentioning the words 'go-go boots', 'glitter', and 'bullwhip' together in regards to Bonnie.

That night was the first in almost a year that Bonnie didn't feel herself hating Damon Salvatore for simply existing.

_ There were inhuman growls coming from her left side. She stubbornly refused to take her eyes on the paper, refused to acknowledge anything outside of the spell._

_ Claws flashed in the moonlight. Sharp talons razed across the skin of her back and she bit her lip to keep from screaming. She bit too hard and now there's blood in her mouth. The thing that attacked her has no chance for a second try. She heard it scream and the sounds of tearing flesh before tuning it all out again._

_ She was almost done . . ._

Something changed in Mystic Falls and suddenly it was like a monster-free-for-all. Stefan starting going off about ley lines and mystical energy deposits and supernatural hotspots in a jumble of words that hadn't made any sense until he grabbed Emily's grimoire and flipped it open to the right page.

Bonnie had spent the past few months studying Emily's work, but she hadn't quite made it to this section. Emily had gone into great detail about the history of ley lines and how she sensed two powerful lines intersecting underneath Mystic Falls. Apparently this was a rarity in the supernatural world and the situation was made worse by the amount of blood spilled in the town. She wasn't sure why that made a difference, but Emily jotted down notes of how evil begat evil and that murder didn't help the situation. Whatever the reason, Emily was onto something. The death count in her town had shot up dramatically since the return of the Salvatores, and while Bonnie usually took this as an excuse to blame everything on Damon, he wasn't the only one to blame. Apparently spilling vampire blood counted as well, especially on ley lines, and John Gilbert's crusade to eradicate all the tomb vampires on top of all the human deaths had added up to a whole of trouble.

So far, aside from the constant stream of vampires in and out of the town, they had dealt with Nixies, which were really mean-spirited water demons. Their voices could enchant humans, to the point where the humans willingly drowned themselves to reach the Nixies. Three single women had been lured to their death before Alaric pinpointed what was happening at the Falls. After came the infestation of Vetalas, demons that inhabited dead bodies and tried to make humans insane enough to kill their children. Damon and Stefan, along with Jeremy, put an end to that debacle before the Vetalas could claim any victims, but it had been close. Next were Shedus, storm demons that attempted to drown the town with torrential rains that went on for one month before Bonnie was able to vanquish them.

But the Kitsune was the worst. Fox-like demons, they were tricky creatures. No one even noticed its presence until Caroline had gone missing. That particular Kitsune was one half of a set of twins and he apparently liked things that came in pairs. Unbeknownst to Caroline, she became one of those things. Bonnie wasn't sure what was worse: finding out you're pregnant at eighteen or finding it out only after a demon kidnapped you for the chance to collect your unborn children.

They had all been looking for her. The vampires were working overtime, running through the woods and other dark places of town trying to find her. Bonnie had been with Elena when Stefan called. They had grabbed Matt and Alaric and driven to the spot. They came upon the scene, seeing Stefan, Jeremy, and Tyler already trying to engage the monster. Damon was nowhere to be seen and Bonnie felt a momentary surge of annoyance before her attention was diverted. She lost track of the others and joined the fight the best she could. After what seemed like forever, the demon was dead and everyone was breathing a sigh of relief.

That's when they heard Caroline screaming.

Stefan found her first, hiding in the hollowed out trunk of a dying tree. She wasn't alone. Damon was with her, his body half out of the tree as Caroline tugged frantically at him. Bonnie had been horrified at the sight of him. There was so much blood and cuts and his face-Bonnie couldn't even tell it was Damon.

Stefan had his brother up in his arms in the blink of an eye. He gave the assembled group a quick nod and was gone, presumably taking his brother back to the boarding house for healing. Matt had managed to coax Caroline out by this time and they discovered she was bleeding profusely from the wrist.

"It just kept coming," Caroline sobbed as Elena rushed to stop the blood flow. "And Damon, he pushed me into the trunk and he stood up to it and he wouldn't-he wouldn't let it get me. Even after-" Caroline paused as another bout of hysterical weeping overtook her. "It hurt him SO much, and he still didn't give up. And then Stefan and Jeremy and Tyler were there and he just collapsed! I tried, I tried to help him. I tried to give him blood, but Elena! It broke his teeth!"

Cold pervaded every inch of Bonnie's body as Caroline explained what had happened, why the demon had taken her in the first place, and how Damon had showed up to save her. She had cut herself when it was apparent that Damon couldn't bite into her wrist. Caroline was sure that Damon was going to die, right then and there, and she was desperate to get him blood. She might have cut too deep and Jeremy stepped forward to offer up his own blood to heal her. Only Alaric stepped up to stop him, pointing out that they weren't sure what vampire blood would do to the babies Caroline was carrying. Bonnie stepped forward and cast a quick healing spell that didn't completely heal the wound, but did enough to help Elena stop the blood.

The journey back to the boarding house was very subdued. Matt wanted Caroline to go to the hospital, and they had to stop to drop the couple plus Tyler off. Jeremy had raced ahead of them and was with the Salvatores when they arrived. Both vampires had undressed Damon and gotten him into the bath. Stefan explained that Damon's wounds were so bad because there was poison present. They were trying to force it out of his body and feeding him blood was helping only so much. It would be a long road to recovery.

They took on separate shifts. Stefan and Jeremy had to rest, as the fight had taken a lot out of them as well. Bonnie and Elena tended to them while Alaric stayed with Damon. Stefan went as soon as Elena would let him and then it was Jeremy's turn for fussing. Bonnie left the siblings to argue about whether Jeremy's vampire status exempted him from a sisterly fussing. Elena was playfully mussing Jeremy's hair and he was growling at her when Bonnie wandered out of the parlour room. She debated going home but remembered her promise. Even Alaric was awaiting his next shift in the kitchen and even though she didn't want to admit it, Bonnie wouldn't be able to rest comfortably at home while Damon's condition was so up in the air.

She was at his door before she knew what was happening. She heard a few muffled sounds coming from the room, although they stopped when she got close enough to hear them. She pushed open the door since it was obvious they knew she was there. Stefan smiled faintly at her from his spot at Damon's bedside. He gave his brother a slap on the shoulder and left the room, murmuring something about refereeing the Gilbert-squabble downstairs.

Bonnie inched closer to the bed, unsure if she really wanted to do this. Damon looked a bit better than he did before, but the poison was making the healing process slow. His chest was bare and covered in a slight sheen. It must have been the poison coming out of his body because she knew that vampires didn't sweat. She saw a damp, slightly discoloured towel on the night table and picked it up. She wiped off his chest without a word, purposefully avoiding his face as she took in his injuries.

The wounds were closing; she could see them stitching together. But it was slow, the skin twitching a handful of times each minute. She sighed as she took the seat that Stefan had vacated, still avoiding looking him in the eyes. The silence was uncomfortable and she didn't really understand what she was doing here. It wasn't even her shift. But there was something that had been gnawing at her since they found Damon with Caroline.

"Why?"

He laughed, a brittle sound that wheezed out of his throat. "Do I always need an ulterior motive?"

Usually she would retort with a snide remark about how history had proven that he did always have an ulterior motive, but she couldn't force the words out. Reluctantly, Bonnie raised her eyes to look upon his face. The damage wasn't as bad as before, but it was still pretty severe. His left eye was swollen shut and his nose looked like it was broken. Various cuts, bruises, and gouge marks covered the rest of his face and Bonnie was suddenly hit by an overwhelming sense of compassion for Damon Salvatore.

"Besides," he carried on, turning his one good eye towards her and attempting a smile. She saw a flash of fang and felt relieved that at least his teeth had grown back. "If I just let Caroline die, Elena would have moped for just about forever and I would officially lose any hope of seeing you in those go-go boots."

She laughed before she could help herself, quickly trying to stifle the mirth as soon as it appeared. She had to slap a hand over her mouth to hold back the giggles and dropped her eyes to hide the fondness she knew was there.

"Well now, would you look at that," Damon rasped from his bed. "I've made Bonnie Bennett smile. Never thought I'd see the day you were loosened up enough not to want me dead on sight, but look here, I've made you laugh."

His words reminded her of things she hadn't really considered in a long time. Bonnie sobered immediately, looking Damon straight in the eye as she spoke. "I've hated you a long time Damon," she said. "And I won't lie to you; there is still a large part of me that blames all this on you. But I've come to see that all this carnage, it wasn't your intention. You were in love, and you just wanted that back. I never understood until I lost Grams, but I get it now. When you love someone, it's too hard to go on without them, to think of them in pain or suffering. You thought she was dying down there, slowly starving to death, and you had to save her. I get it. I don't like the way you went about it, but I get it. But what I don't get is why you nearly died protecting Caroline today."

Her speech had discomforted him. He shifted a little on his bed, stopping because the pain made it hard to continue. His right eye drifted away from her face and became transfixed on some spot on the wall opposite them. She thought that he wasn't going to answer her question, was prepared to let the issue drop, when he began to speak.

"I owe her," Damon mumbled, in a voice so low that Bonnie had to lean closer to hear him properly. "You know what I did to her. Lately, I've been feeling bad about it, especially since we all started up this monster-fighting A-team lifestyle. She doesn't like me, always has something nasty or bitchy to say, but she trusted in me because we were on the same side. I made her forget everything, but still she knew I had done some terrible things to her. But she still trusted me. And when that thing was going on about twin babies and ripping them out of her when they were big enough, she looked to me. She looked to me to save her, and I couldn't walk away. Not with her there, not when their children were in trouble. I owe her and Mutt too. It's not enough; I'm not interested in trying to repay the whole debt. That would take too long and there's never going to be anything I can do to completely repay it. But I could do that."

His honesty was making her uncomfortable. She wasn't used to dealing with a repentant Damon. Sarcastic, mocking Damon was much better because that Damon didn't force her to re-examine her perceptions of him. "You know, if you're really sincere about this making stuff up to Matt thing, you could start by not calling him 'Mutt'."

"Hey, I know I look like a god come to life, but I'm not," Damon's lips twitched upwards in a shadow of his traditional smirk. "I don't do miracles."

Bonnie snorted. That was the Damon she knew.

"You know, I think that's the closest he's ever come to admitting he's not perfect." Bonnie turned at the sound of Stefan's voice, seeing the younger Salvatore at the door with a mug in his hand. There was an overly pink swirly straw in the mug and what looked like a tiny umbrella. Stefan raised the mug towards his brother. "Caroline, Matt, and Tyler are back from the hospital. They brought you something."

The straw and umbrella had Caroline's fingerprints all over them. Bonnie smirked as Damon scowled, reaching out to accept the mug from Stefan. The vampire in question gave her an amused look. "I can stay with him for this, Bonnie," Stefan assured her. "You can go get some rest."

Bonnie shook her head. "You were tossed around just as much as the others. You go rest; I can stand his company for a little while."

"Be still my heart," Damon grumbled from the bed. "Oh wait."

Stefan gave him brother an exasperated look. "Be nice, there are people actually fighting over the right to spend time with you."

"Unlike you, little brother, that is not something with which I am entirely unfamiliar," Damon retorted, that damned smirk back on his face. "And now since I am the injured party, and my feelings count more than either of yours, I'm going to choose my nurse. And I choose Bonnie, of course. I get enough of the brooding forehead when I'm well. I might as well have something nice to look while I'm bedridden."

Stefan sighed and handed Bonnie the mug in defeat. "You're an ass," was all he had to say to his brother before departing.

"I love you too!" Damon shouted after Stefan before turning to look at Bonnie. "Well, what are you waiting for? Give me my medicine, woman."

Bonnie rolled her eyes and brought the straw to his lips. "You are an ass."

Damon laughed. "You love it," he said with a wink before turning his attention to the blood.

Bonnie was afraid that he might be right.

_ The last few words dropped from her lips and then it felt like the world had ended._

_ Wind and rain and ice swirled about her, obstructing her view of the woods. Plants tore out of the ground, trees bent nearly in half, and mournful wails filled the night sky._

_ And then all was silent._

_ Bonnie collapsed._

"What is this? The Stupid Idea Show? We are NOT doing that."

Bonnie sighed and buried her head in her hands. "Damon, shut up."

"I will not," the vampire retorted, enunciating each word slowly as if to emphasize his point. "This idea of yours? Not happening!"

"It has merits," Alaric protested.

"No one asked you, Professor. Don't you have adolescents to bore to tears?"

"Maybe Damon's right," Elena interrupted before a real fight could get started. "We should look for other options."

"But for how long?" Caroline asked from her spot on the couch. Pregnancy looked good on Caroline, but rarely made Caroline feel good. She was covered up with a blanket pushed up to her chin. Her feet, ankles horribly swollen, were elevated on a pillow. Matt sat perched on the arm rest, ready to spring into action should his girlfriend ask. But for once Caroline was less concerned with her pregnancy woes and more with what was going on in their town. "We can't go on like this. There's something new almost every week. We can't just traipse around, hoping for another solution to fall into our laps. A lot of people have died already. If it keeps up, there might not be a town to save."

"Excellent point," Damon said with a flourish. "Our little Care-Bear is right on the money-"

"Don't call me that."

"-we need to do something to save the townspeople. Let's evacuate them."

"And how do we do that?" Tyler snarled from near the fireplace. "Ask everyone real nice if they can just pack up all their stuff and head on out of town? How do we stop the questions from coming? Slap a message on the town's welcome sign that reads 'Please turn around-monster infestation'?"

"See!" Damon crowed in triumph, hand gesturing Tyler's way as he looked to Alaric. "Now that is some problem-solving ability! You remembered to pass him, right?"

"Damon, stop with the theatrics," Stefan admonished. "We need real solutions. Caroline's right: too many have died. We can't keep up with the volume of demons flooding this town. We used up all our resources, talked to those few people who were willing to help, and we've come up with this."

"Collapsing ley lines is dangerous, little brother," Damon rolled his eyes. "We'd all die before we even got halfway done. And besides, all those demons like the ley lines. They're not going to let us shut them down without a fight."

"And can you even be sure that you'll redirect them?" Jeremy piped up. "I mean no offence Bonnie, you're an awesome witch but those things have been here since like the beginning of time, right? They've always been here. How are you going to shut them off?"

"We wouldn't be shutting them off, per say," Bonnie explained wearily. "I'd simply be shutting down their broadcast signal, restart them so the damage of the last few decades of violence is wiped clean."

"Of course, simple, why didn't we think of it before?" Damon snorted. "That spell will kill you, witch. We'd be lucky if we're only cleaning your brain matter off the trees."

"It's my brain matter, so whether I want to spray it across the trees is my business," Bonnie snapped. She sent Damon an angry glare. "You don't tell me what to do, Damon."

"Why not?" Damon countered. "You're always telling me what to do. 'Damon, don't bite humans. Damon, don't scare humans. Damon, don't leave your empty blood mugs all over the place. Damon, don't teach Jeremy how to compel sorority girls into letting him referee their naked pillow fights. Damon, put a shirt on because the sight of your rock-hard abs distracts me from my nagging'."

That had even Stefan chuckling. Bonnie shook her head, giving up on arguing with the vampire. "I'm still doing it, whether you like it or not."

"I don't," Damon growled, all mirth wiped off his face in a second. "At all."

Bonnie rose to her feet and started walking out of the parlour. "Too bad."

_ Someone was shaking her. They might even be talking to her, but she couldn't make out the words. She just felt so cold . . ._

_ Bonnie just wanted to sleep._

"We can cancel this stupid plan and still have enough time for the 10 o'clock showing of Nightmare on Elm Street."

Bonnie didn't bother turning around, just continued to pack her bag full of supplies. She had moved most of Grams' supplies and books over to the Salvatore home months ago, just because of the convenience. The boarding house had become their headquarters of sorts, and Bonnie spent more time there than she did at home. The same could be said of the others and while he complained endlessly about all the little humans in his way, Bonnie knew Damon liked having them around. "I thought you hated all Hollywood movies after watching Twilight?"

"Nah, but that New Moon bullcrap had me seriously pissed," Damon appeared in front of her, palms face down on the table Stefan had bought for her potions, glowering as if his life depended on it. "Are you really that committed to dying?"

"You could help," Bonnie said, dodging the question and lifting her bag before Damon took the opportunity to misconstrue her words. "This stuff's heavy."

Damon smirked. "Sorry, I'm against assisted suicide."

Bonnie gave him a look. "Damon."

He heaved a great big dramatic sigh but took the bag from her. He hefted it experimentally, no doubt wondering if smashing all the contents inside would stop this thing from going through. It wouldn't matter to him if such an action would upset her. But then again, Damon rarely worried about things upsetting her. He certainly didn't go out of his way to hurt her, but annoying her to the erupting point? That was still one of his favourite pastimes.

"I have more," she told him, pre-empting any bottle smashing.

"I bet I could find them before you could save them," he countered, swinging the bag in a haphazard circle.

"I'm still going to do the spell, Damon," Bonnie sighed. "Break whatever you want. You can't stop this."

"Aaah, a challenge!" Damon punctuated this exclamation by tossing the bag up into the air and catching seconds before it hit the ground. Bonnie started before she could help herself, and he was smirking at her triumphantly once again. "You know I'm always up for a challenge."

"Damon, don't be childish," she muttered unhappily, turning away from the vampire to continue with her preparations. "I don't know why you're having so much trouble with this. We have a good chance-"

"But not a great one," he interjected. "And of course, your brains will blow out the back of your head. I've mentioned that, haven't I?"

"Several times," she murmured absently, more focused on gathering the right materials than having this argument for the umpteenth time.

"And you're still insisting on it?"

Bonnie nodded, grabbing a vial of red liquid that may or may not be the rosewater she needed.

"Fine. I want you to drink my blood."

Bonnie blinked, all thoughts of the spell chased away in a rush of confusion. "What did you just say?"

"Drink my blood," Damon repeated slowly, as if Bonnie were a particularly dim-witted child. "That way, if the spell turns out to be too much, you won't die. Well, not permanently anyway."

Bonnie spun on her heel and gave Damon a dark look. "Did you seriously just suggest I become a vampire?"

Damon shrugged, eyes dropping to the bag as he juggled it in a blatantly obvious attempt to not have to look at her. "It's not that bad. We could get you a ring so you can run around in the sunlight. Stefan will have a squirrel chasing partner, because I can just foresee all your moral posturing on biting humans. We'll all be together still."

"Is that going to be your solution for everything?" she asked him quietly. "Wait until everyone's a certain age, done all they needed to with their human bodies, and then just change them? You're going to offer everyone eternity just to keep the gang together?"

"I don't know," he admitted. "But I know I am offering it to you."

The air became heavy with tension and Bonnie felt herself shying away from it. She turned back to her supplies, forcing a short laugh out of her lungs. "Honestly, why would you want me to live forever?"

Damon grabbed her by the arm and spun her around so fast that she nearly toppled off her feet. His face was set in dangerously, angry lines and there's not one hint of a smile, grin, or smirk anywhere. "Don't be deliberately dense!" he growled, shaking her just once before letting her go. "It's not a good look on you."

He stalked out of the room, carrying her bag clenched tightly in his hand. She watched him go, chest heaving for air. Bonnie shut her eyes and tried to calm herself down. She pushed away images of Damon's intense gaze, the sad tilt to his lips, and the damn near palpable turmoil on his face.

A sigh shuddered through her body. Bonnie forcibly clamped down on her emotions and took up her preparations once more.

She didn't have time for this.

_ "I told you this was a bad idea! She's dying!"_

_ "Damon, don't! She wouldn't want you to!"_

_ "You think I care what she wants? She never gave a damn about what I wanted! I damn near begged-"_

_ Bonnie wanted the voices to stop. They were too loud and too shrill. They were making her head hurt._

_ "Damon," she moaned. "Stop it."_

_ "Goddamn it woman! Stop telling me what to do!"_

_ "Damon! She just spoke to you!"_

_ "Figures that she would use her last breaths to nag at me one last time."_

_ "If she's strong enough to talk, maybe a little bit won't hurt."_

_ "But what if she gets mad?"_

_ "Who cares? She'll be alive to do it."_

_ And that was the last thing she heard before fingers parted her lips and something cold, wet, and with a coppery taste dripped into her mouth . . ._

She awoke with the sun in her eyes, causing her to squeeze her eyes shut and groan at the unwanted intrusion. Bonnie folded her legs up to her chest and buried her face deeper into her pillow. But her pillow was surprisingly hard and cold to the touch, not to mention her legs bumped up against something hard.

Bonnie opened her eyes and looked up in confusion. She was greeted by the sight of ice blue eyes, white teeth, and the smuggest smirk Damon could produce for the occasion. "Morning witch. Sleep well?"

Bonnie looked down, realizing that her arms were wrapped tightly around Damon's bare waist and her legs were resting on top of his. Her naked legs . . .

"Damon! Where are my pants?"

The vampire shrugged. "Can't recall," he answered, giving her a rakish look. "But I can't say that I'm trying real hard to remember."

Bonnie scuttled away from him, pulling the blankets with her. She wrapped herself tight in the covers, muttering curses and dark accusations towards her uninvited bedmate.

"Hey! I'm offended," Damon waggled his eyebrows at her and scooted closer to her on the bed. "I didn't do anything to your pants. Elena and Caroline put you in your pyjamas originally, but when you woke up for five seconds last night, you blew chunks everywhere and got them dirty. I was kind enough to lend you one of my night shirts. As you can see, I don't have much use for them."

"What are you doing in bed with me?" Bonnie demanded tersely.

"Actually, you're in bed with me," Damon corrected her. "This is my room, remember? We have to move you from your previous spot in Stefan's bed because of all the vomiting. By the way, you throwing up all over my brother and his bed is too endearing for words. I think I love you."

"Why was I in bed with Stefan?"

"You weren't. He was on Bonnie-watch and trying to get you to the toilet before you erupted. Didn't work, and now here you are, in my bed. I was willing to let you share with me and even volunteered for the first shift of the day. Imagine my surprise when you took advantage of my good nature and tried to molest me in your sleep."

"I did not!" Bonnie protested with her cheeks aflame. "And like you wouldn't like that."

"Hey, I said it surprised me, I didn't say I didn't enjoy it," Damon leaned in closer, a hand going up to cup her face. "Face it, Bonnie Bennett. You are deeply in lust with me. Accept it, embrace it, and let's make fantastic naked whoopee before someone intrudes."

"Damon!"

"Fine, we'll leave it for later," Damon tapped his finger against her nose and tsked her for her outburst. "Besides, Care-Bear took the time to waddle her way up here just to eavesdrop; it'd be a shame to send her away now."

"I don't waddle," came Caroline's voice as she exploded into the room. She eyed the vampire on the bed menacingly, rubbed her large belly affectionately, and proceeded to walk with great care towards Bonnie's side. "And don't call me Care-Bear."

Damon rolled his eyes and rose from the bed. He made a fake grab at Caroline, playfully nipping at her stomach even as she snorted dismissively at his behaviour. "Be seeing you, witch," he called over his shoulder as he exited the room. "Finally got those special-order go-go boots in the mail yesterday."

"He's been freakishly happy since last night," Caroline mock-whispered to Bonnie. "He tells everyone that it's because you threw up all over Stefan and his bed, but I think it's just because he was so happy to see you awake. And now, just look at him. He practically skipped out of here."

"Caroline, we're not doing this," Bonnie warned her friend, shifting nervously in her maze of blankets. "Did I really throw up all over Stefan?"

"And his bed," Caroline confirmed. "Not to mention, you've been out of it for five days. Damon kept giving you a little bit of blood each day and we could usually get you to swallow a few mouthfuls of water or broth at a time, but we were worried for just a smidgen of a second. Of course, we're idiots. Like Bonnie Bennett would let a little thing like collapsing ancient ley lines do her in for good."

"Did it work?"

"Yeah it worked. This is the first time we've gone a week without hearing about some new demon tearing through the town. I haven't slept this soundly since I was a kid. Even the soccer twins have calmed down this week. Now you're awake and looking good, so my life is pretty perfect."

Bonnie shook her head at her friend. "I'm glad for you. How's everyone?"

"Everyone is fine," Caroline insisted. "We've been preoccupied with you most of the time. But all vampires, werewolves, cheerleaders, quarterbacks, and history teachers are alive and accounted for. Elena broke her wrist in the fight and Matt dislocated a shoulder, but other than that, everyone's fine."

"I'm glad," Bonnie leaned back against the headboard with a smile on her face. She gazed thoughtfully at her friend before asking: "So Damon?"

Caroline gave her a wicked grin and nodded. "Yeah, Damon."

Bonnie blushed and bit her lip to keep back a batch of insanely inappropriate giggles. "Oh, this is such a bad idea. Isn't it?"

Caroline shrugged carelessly. "You know my stance on the issue of boys and girls who like each other."

"Yeah, but does it apply to vampires and witches?"

"You never know until you try," Caroline grinned and grabbed Bonnie's hand. "Come on Bonnie, just relax. We won, you were awesome, and Damon's kind of cute when he dotes. Life is good, for now. Enjoy it until the next speed bump comes along."

"Does it have to come?" Bonnie asked, her question only half serious.

"It doesn't have to," Caroline conceded. "But it will. It always does. But for now, life is good."

Bonnie nodded and closed her eyes. She drew in a deep breath and exhaled, feeling her body release almost six months worth of tension. Caroline was right; life is good, for now. And considering who they were, and where they lived, that was as good as it was going to get.

"Caroline? Get me some pants. I have a vampire to talk to."

Caroline huffed and pushed up to her feet, grumbling the entire way.

"The guy's smoking hot and you want to 'talk'? I fear for you Bonnie Bennett. I really do."

The End

***I'm not too jazzed up on the ending, but there wasn't anywhere else for this fic to go. Hope you enjoyed.***


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